This is a review of the eponymous LP Yung Life (2012), and the second review here on Track-By-Track.
I first found out about this band from a Said Deep mixtape on Bandcamp. I heard the first track off the album, and immediately wanted more. This album was just the fix of upbeat new wave that I needed.
This album (surprisingly, Yung Life's first LP) leaps immeasurably far ahead of the previous albums on their Bandcamp page, and is insanely repeatable. The melodic construction of every song is heavily influenced by good 80s and early 90s pop, and is well done in pretty much every respect. And most of the songs have great hooks.
Yung Life's reliance on synths isn't to the point where there's nothing but generators on the album; great vocals, guitars, bass, and drums, make this an album based in the techniques of yesteryear, without being bogged down by old clichés. I’m used to giving glowing reviews because there’s so much good music out there, and this album is no exception: It surpassed all of my expectations.
Here’s my TBT:
“Isn’t This” has some great lyrics, and the styles of the synths and guitars do each other justice. Drums are good and grounding, and the vocal harmonies make this worthy of radio play in the 80s (the New Wave 80s stations, that is). It’s about the dissolution of childhood into a more (or less) observant adulthood, and makes me think of memories that might not have existed.
“Breaker” brings me right back to everything I used to love about rock on the radio, and the bass is an excellent floor to the track. Hi-freq synths are magical, and the occasional stabs are perfectly in-keeping with the 80s vibe of the album. I’m surprised that anything this well-produced is being offered for free.
“Back For You” is addictive, and I’ve found myself wanting to sing along with the chorus when I’m walking down the street. The touch of what sounds like a car horn has psyched me out a few times, and somehow enhances the track. This is definitely one of the best tracks on the album, even though I’m tempted to say that of many others.
“Pathfinder” has a great catchy opening, and the non-lyrical vocalizations remind me of M83’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming. The classic drum toms are perfect to bring back memories of those classic 80s songs, yet the song is not too nostalgic to resemble any specific song. The solo is similarly classic.
The 5th track, “Find Me”, is ultra-80s-pop. It sounds like the opening of some movie not half-worth the song’s inclusion. The lyrics aren’t complex, but the chorus is undeniably addictive, and the harmonies help make up for the lack of complexity. The occasional guitar chord lead-offs give the track the atmosphere of the days when radio-music was still good (again, good radio-stations).
“I’m Burning” is also not lyrically complex. I find myself wanting more words, but the track is still good despite lyrical simplicity. The synths drive this, though the guitar makes them even better. Vocal reverbs are great, though I am a reverb glutton.
“Hiding Girl” is a weaker song on the album. The M83 vocal-snippets return, but the chorus’s lyrics detract from the song, because they sound too pop-standard. As usual, the instruments and singing are done like pros, but there is one little sample that neatly pans left at around 3 minutes in, that distracts me from the rest of the song.
The aptly-named “90s Dreams” is a return to the album’s overall quality. Though some parts of the song are cut-in by other parts a little abruptly, it sounds somewhat fitting, because the album is mainly in a retro-style; it brings back memories of analogue editing. Not much lyrical complexity, but the hook is great, and the classic shift in key near the end brings me to more nostalgia for songs I forgot I listened to.
“Holy” is a watery track (chorus-pedals and other pitch modulation), and the lyrics are finally more complex. The part where most of the instruments cut out is done expertly, and the bass and guitar sound like something off of Lauper’s greatest hits. It’s refreshing that so many tracks have great natural-sounding harmonies, instead of that annoyingly pitch-corrected cack we hear in most so-called modern pop.
The final track, “Over Time in Time”, surprises with its transcendence. It’s a definite ending to this strong album. Despite a brief blip that likely only audiophiles (like I) will notice, the laser-style and hi-freq synths give it a great feeling, and the lyrics harken back to “Isn’t This”. The drums have just the right energy to give the other instruments a perfect place in the whole thing.
Considering all that this album has: Its surprisingly great vocals, its classic guitar and drums, the ground-level yet prominent bass, the synths that make you want to rent out a Moog just for the experience, and its pay-what-you-want price-tag (as of writing this review); you should give a listen before you have to tell your friends you haven't heard of that band. You can get this shockingly good album at: http://yunglife.bandcamp.com, and links to their most recent single is on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/#!/yunglifeband). And then you should rent out a surprisingly good old-school movie like Quick Change, and make a night of it.
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